MUMBAI, India/FARIDKOT, Pakistan, Nov 21 (Reuters) - India
secretly hanged the lone survivor of the Pakistan-based militant
squad responsible for a rampage through Mumbai that killed 166
people, sparking celebrations days before the fourth anniversary
of the assault on the financial capital.

Pakistan national Mohammad Ajmal Kasab was the enduring
image of the bloody assault, which traumatised India and raised
fears of copycat attacks on foreign cities. Pictures of the
boyish gunman wearing a black T-shirt and toting an AK-47 rifle
as he strode through Mumbai's train station were published
around the world.

Kasab was executed on Wednesday morning amid great secrecy,
underscoring the political sensitivity of the Nov. 26, 2008,
massacre, which still casts a pall over relations between
nuclear-armed rivals Pakistan and India.

"All the police officers and personnel who lost their life
in the battle against the terrorists have today been served
justice," Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde said after Kasab was
hanged in a jail in Pune, southeast of Mumbai.

Kasab was charged with 86 offences, including murder and
waging war against the Indian state, in a charge-sheet running
to more than 11,000 pages.

It was the first time a capital sentence had been carried
out in India since 2004. There was celebration on the streets of
Mumbai and other cities as news of the execution spread, but
militant groups in Pakistan reacted angrily, as did residents of
his home village of Faridkot.

People set off fireworks and handed out sweets in Indian
cities. Some held up photos of Kasab with a rope noose
superimposed over his head.

Attack survivor Vishnu Zende, who was working at Mumbai's
train station where nearly 60 people were killed, said the
execution brought it all back.

"When I heard the news of Kasab's execution today, I
remembered those horrifying moments of the attack," Zende said.

"My eyes were filled with tears."

An effigy of Kasab was hung by the neck from the entrance
gate of the station by a right-wing local party. A crowd of
about 30 shouted "Pakistan murdabad" (death to Pakistan) as they
beat the effigy, which had shoes hung around its shoulders.

In Pakistan, a senior commander of the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT)
militant group, which India blames for the assault on Mumbai,
called Kasab a hero and said he would inspire more attacks.

"To die like Kasab is the dream of every fighter," the
commander told Reuters by telephone from an undisclosed
location.

The Pakistan Taliban said they were shocked by the hanging.

"There is no doubt that it's very shocking news and a big
loss that a Muslim has been hanged on Indian soil," Taliban
spokesman Ihsanullah Ihsan told Reuters.

TICKET TO HEAVEN

Kasab was buried inside the prison where he was hanged,
officials said. He was quiet and seemed nervous before the
execution, a prison guard told the NDTV network. He prayed and
asked if his family had been informed, which they had.

India said it would hand over the body to Pakistan if asked.
Talking to Reuters from Faridkot, Kasab's aunt said she was
proud of him and wanted his body back. A schoolmate remembered a
boisterous child who loved karate "but never harmed anyone".
Villagers threw stones and slapped around journalists who went
to the village in the province of Punjab.

This year, Saudi Arabia extradited an Indian-born militant
accused of being a key plotter in the Mumbai attacks. Police say
Sayeed Zabiuddin Ansari, also known as Abu Jindal, helped
coordinate the attack from a "control room" in the Pakistani
city of Karachi and also helped to train the gunmen.

In a video of his interrogation by Indian police, Kasab said
his trainers and handlers had assured him prior to the attack
that his killing spree was a sure ticket to rewards in heaven.

In August, India's Supreme Court upheld Kasab's 2010 death
sentence over the attacks. President Pranab Mukherjee rejected
his plea for clemency on Nov. 5, although this was not made
public until Tuesday night.

The timing of the execution, shortly before a series of
state elections, may be beneficial for the government, which
opposition leaders accuse of being soft on national security.

"FOOT SOLDIER"

Ten militants arrived on the Mumbai shoreline in a dinghy on
Nov. 26, 2008, before splitting into four groups and embarking
on a killing spree. They held off elite commandos for up to 60
hours in two luxury hotels and a Jewish centre in the city.

India says Islamabad is failing to act against those behind
the raids, including LeT founder Hafiz Saeed, who has a $10
million U.S. bounty on his head. Pakistan admits the attacks
were planned on its soil, but denies official involvement.

It says seven suspects are being prosecuted for their role.

"Kasab was a foot soldier, the generals are in Islamabad, in
Pakistan, and full justice will be done when they are brought to
justice," Gopalapuram Parthasarathy, a former ambassador to
Pakistan, told Reuters.

Improving relations with Pakistan is a keystone of Prime
Minister Manmohan Singh's foreign policy. Singh, who was born in
present-day Pakistan when it was still part of British India,
has repeatedly postponed visiting the country because of lack of
progress on convicting the Mumbai suspects.

However, India and Pakistan's relations have gradually
improved since the attacks, with progress made on trade and
economic ties.

Possibly because of the planned execution, India on Tuesday
asked Pakistan to postpone a visit this week by Interior
Minister Rehman Malik, saying the dates were "not suitable for
us". Malik was due to put the final seal on a deal to ease visa
restriction for travellers.

Kasab's execution happened very quickly for India's usually
glacial justice system. Three people convicted of the
assassination of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi are still on
death row, 21 years after he was killed by a suicide bomb.

In Pakistan, many said the hanging happened quickly only
because of his nationality. People questioned whether Kasab was
really guilty, despite the video evidence.

Pakistan was informed beforehand about Kasab's execution,
said a Pakistani foreign ministry official who asked not to be
identified. "If all judicial procedures were followed, then the
decision is acceptable," the official said.